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    An All ‘Independence’ Playlist for the Fourth of July

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    Listen to songs by Martina McBride, Destiny’s Child, Kelly Clarkson and more.Martina McBridePaul Natkin/WireImage, via Getty ImagesDear listeners,Hello again from your guest playlister — Lindsay’s editor, Caryn — in this lead-up to the Fourth of July. Last year, Lindsay brought you a 16-song soundtrack for your holiday barbecues. I am not going to top that, so instead (inspired by my fave, Kelly Clarkson), I did a brief dive into songs that use independence as a thematic trope.While pop has turned to the independent woman many times, Independence Day has been a time for reflection on a variety of emotional topics: a painful breakup (Palehound), an escape from an abusive relationship (Martina McBride), a glimmer of hopefulness cracking through the melancholy (Elliott Smith). Bruce Springsteen’s song is a tad too dark even for this list, sorry, Jersey friends!All of these songs are sharply written, passionately sung and provide some form of release. And taken together, they make a pretty cohesive playlist. (If you did not yet know, I’m fanatical about sequencing.)Throw your hands up at me,CarynListen along while you read.1. Kelly Clarkson: “Miss Independent”Kelly Clarkson’s debut album, “Thankful” from 2003, featured this killer lead single: a genuine jam (with some genuinely dated production) about a strong woman who finds there’s also strength in letting love into her life. If it sounds a bit like a finger-wagging Christina Aguilera song, there’s good reason for that: She’s a writer on the track (along with Clarkson, Rhett Lawrence and Matt Morris), which was at one point destined for her own “Stripped.”▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTubeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      ‘The Sound of Christmas’ Review: A Gospel Singer Finds Love

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      A young singer gets more than she bargained for when she accepts a job as a nanny for a billionaire’s children.Here’s a name you may not have heard in a while: Ne-Yo. The R&B singer known for early aughts hits like “Miss Independent” and “So Sick” stars in “The Sound of Christmas,” a charming new holiday film, as Quentin, a widowed billionaire who falls for his kids’ nanny, Montana.As the holidays approach, Montana (Serayah McNeill of “Empire”) finds herself unemployed and without a place to stay. She catches a break when Quentin’s mother, Estelle (Roxzane T. Mims), with whom she sings in their church’s choir, offers her a job as a live-in nanny to her two grandchildren, Deirdre (Alijah Kai) and Daniel (Blake James). The film follows Montana as she wins over the children and, eventually, their closed off dad.Directed by Booker T. Mattison, the church features heavily in “The Sound of Christmas.” Montana is a church girl who breaks up with her boyfriend because she wants to find someone with whom she’s equally yoked, or spiritually aligned. And though Quentin’s mother, and even his snooty girlfriend, Chloe (Draya Michele), are active members of the church, Quentin has not been to a service since his wife’s death — resentful that his prayers to save her were not answered. Montana helps lead him back to religion and brings music back into the family’s life.The relationship between Montana and the kids is a highlight, as are some of the other secondary relationships. And though the film is as predictable and saccharine as one might expect of holiday fare, viewers who grew up in the Black church may enjoy seeing a relatable and chaste romantic story on-screen.The Sound of ChristmasNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. Watch on BET+. More

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      in Music

      Ne-Yo Says He Doesn't 'Feel Bad' About Crystal Smith Divorce on 'Pinky Ring'

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      Recalling the time when his estranged wife returned her wedding ring, the R’n’B singer rhymes on the O.T. Genasis collaboration, ‘I turned it to a pinky ring.’
      Feb 21, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Ne-Yo is opening up about his separation from wife Crystal Smith through his music. Linking up with O.T. Genasis, the R&B singer put out a single entitled “Pinky Ring” that finds him addressing the estranged couple’s divorce.
      Recalling the time when Smith first returned her wedding ring, Ne-Yo sings, “She gave back the wedding ring/ I turned it to a pinky ring.” Despite that, the “Miss Independent” singer doesn’t feel hurt at all as he continues rhyming to the beat, “I do not feel bad/ I gave her everything/ Now it’s on to better things.”
      Elsewhere on the song, he sings, “I’m so sick of love songs, I just caught the flu/ Even when I don’t do no wrong, she think I do/ So I’m about to turn this s**t back into the truth.”
      [embedded content]
      Prior to the release of the song, Ne-Yo made it clear that “Pinky Ring” is not a diss track against her ex-partner. “The song is about the way I chose to handle the situation, the way I chose to lift myself up and keep moving as we all must do,” he said in an episode of “Private Talk with Alexis Texas” podcast series.
      Ne-Yo confirmed his separation from Smith earlier this month only a few days before their four-year marriage anniversary. “I’s slowly but surely becoming public knowledge that myself and my wife have decided to go ahead and get a divorce,” he said. “She’s got demons just like everybody else, just like me.”
      He added, “We realize that our demons don’t mesh and until both of us get a hold of our personal demons, it’s gonna be just difficult for us to stay married. With that being said, that’s that, that’s the end of that chapter, not the end of the book. Like I said, that’s the mother of my kids and I love her to death. We’re going to be family forever.”

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      in Music

      Ne-Yo: 'Pinkie Ring' Is Not a Diss Track Against Estranged Wife

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      WENN/FayesVision

      While admitting that his split from the model was the inspiration behind the song, the ‘So Sick’ hitmaker stresses that it is more about the way he chose to handle their breakup.
      Feb 17, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Ne-Yo used his split from wife Crystal Smith as inspiration for his new song “Pinkie Ring”.
      The “So Sick” hitmaker, real name Shaffer Smith, tied the knot with model Crystal on February 20, 2016, weeks before welcoming their first child, son Shaffer Smith, Jr., and the couple went on to have another boy, Roman, in 2018.
      It was reported by The Jasmine Brand last month (January 2020) that Crystal had called time on her marriage, and was planning to file for divorce.
      And after confirming the reports for the first time on the latest episode of podcast “Private Talk with Alexis Texas”, Ne-Yo admitted he used the split as inspiration for his soon to be released track “Pinkie Ring”, and said that while he could have let the marriage breakup “really break me down”, he opted to “take it in stride and keep moving like we all have to do anyway”.
      He added that while he was a “little angry” when he penned the tune, it’s in no way a diss track about Crystal.
      [embedded content]
      “The song is not a diss to her; the song is not about her,” he continued. “The song is about the way I chose to handle the situation, the way I chose to lift myself up and keep moving as we all must do.”

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